1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to visual browsing, and more particularly to a method that will allow a user to browse information in a multiple level category without having to wait for web pages to be loaded.
2. Description of Related Art
Many on-line shopping websites today present items in a multiple level category on related web pages. If a user is interested in an item in the category, the user usually has to click on a button on the category's web page for a sub-category that may contain that item. The user is then presented a web page for the sub-category, with information for the selected sub-category shown thereon. If the category has a number of levels of sub-categories, the user may have to go through a number of web pages. The user has to wait for each page to load, and can only view one page at a time. As a result, the user may not be aware of the contents of multiple levels at the same time.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D illustrate user interfaces of a conventional on-line website, in this case a shopping website. The user interface in FIG. 1A shows four first level categories, “men”, “women”, “kids” and “baby”. Four pictures, each representing a category, may be shown in the middle of the web page in FIG. 1A. If the user were interested in the category “women”, the user would click on the word “women” on the web page. A web page such as the one shown in FIG. 1B then would be loaded and presented to the user.
In addition to the first level categories “men”, “women”, “kids” and “baby” on the top, the webpage in FIG. 1B shows a number of second level categories on the left side: “apparel”, “handbags”, “jewelry”, and “shoes”. The web page shown in FIG. 1B could also include a few pictures, each representing a second level category. If the user were interested in the second level category “jewelry”, the user would click on the word “jewelry” on the web page shown in FIG. 1B. A webpage such as the one shown in FIG. 1C then would be loaded and presented to the user.
In addition to the content shown in FIG. 1B, third level categories “necklaces”, “earrings”, “bracelets”, and “rings” are shown under “jewelry”. The web page in FIG. 1C could also include a few pictures, each representing a third level category. If the user were interested in the third level category “necklaces”, the user would click on the word “necklaces” on the web page shown in FIG. 1C. The webpage shown in FIG. 1D then would be loaded and presented to the user. In the web page shown in FIG. 1D, there may be thumbnail images of a number of necklaces at the bottom for the user to find out what is available, and a big image in the center of the web page so that the user can look at one necklace more closely. To move another necklace to the center of the web page, the user has to click on one of the thumbnail images.
Thus, to move from one category level to another category level, the user has to click on a web page, and wait for another web page to be loaded and presented. To look at an interesting item more closely, the user has to click on a thumbnail image to move the image of the item to the center of the web page. For the 4 level category shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D, to get to the item in which the user is interested, the user has to click four times and wait for four web pages to be loaded. This is not very convenient to the user. In addition, when the Internet connection is slow, the process could be quite time consuming.
It would be desirable to provide a method that allows for smoother, more convenient and more intuitive category navigation.